Review of Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day

This anime is proof that not even a good art and soundtrack are capable of saving an ill-developed story and shallow characters. The play accompanies five friends who separated after a group's member (Menma) dies,when they were still children, then ten years later the ghost of this little girl returns and asks the help of all of them to realize a dream and than able to rest in peace. This premise could have resulted in a masterpiece, but unfortunately all the effort in the creation of the story was dismissed in unnecessary events, mostly involving unrequited love and misunderstanding between the characters. None ofthese characters are real or enjoyable. Except perhaps for Popo, the only character who provides fun scenes to the anime and presents a real drama in the dramatic climax ,that does not involve a love triangle, jealousy or passion for a ghost with child mentality (Giving a mature body to a girl who actually have five years old, does not make it less strange the interactions in which she is posed as object of passion and desire of two grown-up guys).
The group not only carries sadness and blame for the event that killed her friend, but they have become teenagers altogether sad, broken and obsessed by the dead one. While two members of the group remain in love with the little girl (one of then even have the sick behavior to cross-dress like her), the two girls left over are consistently dwindling and hating themselves for not being as beautiful and perfect as their late friend. That is, they all put the little girl on a pedestal but never see her as she really is: Just a child who died very early, whose should be directed brotherly love and friendship, not the sick passion and jealousy she receives.
The final scene is beautiful, or at least should have been, but as no later event in the anime develops friendship and feelings of unity and commitment between the characters, this scene becomes just too melodramatic and unconvincing.

As drama this anime is forced, as a lesson of friendship and overcoming is flawed, and as a romance is simply pathetic and cringy.